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Mark Steven Johnson is the writing-directing auteur behind the critically maligned, sappy Simon Birch (a bowdlerization of John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany). But having only a gentle character drama to his credit did not necessarily mean he couldn't handle Daredevil, the latest action-packed adaptation of a beloved Marvel superhero comic book. No, Johnson couldn't handle Daredevil because he is a bad director. Let's be fair, people.
Johnson's affinity for the tale of Matt Murdock--blind lawyer by day, red-leather-cowled vigilante by night--comes through loud and clear, but so does his lack of aptitude to develop a story with something more than shorthand plotting, wildly divergent tones, and incomprehensible action.
Ben "Please Don't Mention J. Lo" Affleck stars as Murdock, who narrates flashbacks to his unusual childhood, capped with a chemical accident which rendered him blind but super-sensory, and a traumatic death in the family. Murdock grows up to be a lousy lawyer who mostly intones vaguely threatening witticisms at the accused (like "Justice is blind"). But he also grows up to be Daredevil, a pretty good superhero, so it all works out.
One fine day, the "man without fear" meets Elektra Natchios (Jennifer Garner), a mysterious but stunning kickboxing fiend. This rather absurd first meeting goes from testy banter in a cafe to love at first fight as the two wail on each other in a schoolyard filled with curiously unfrightened children (hooray for audience surrogates!).
Crime lord Wilson Fisk--a.k.a. Kingpin (Michael Clarke Duncan)--has the rest of New York squirming, and he, too, seems above Murdock's law...but not the law of the streets! Kingpin hires legendary Irish hitman Bullseye (Colin Farrell) to kill off the offensive Natchios family. Bullseye sports a bullseye-shaped brand on his forehead and has a Magyver-like enthusiasm for killing with whatever's around: paper-clips, pencils, pretty much anything you can get at Office Depot. Also scuttling around under the high-rises are Murdock's wisecracking buddy Franklin "Foggy" Nelson (Jon Favreau) and wisecracking Weegee-like crime photgrapher Ben Urich (Joe Pantoliano).
Despite the cheesy dialogue and genre cliches, fun can be had at Daredevil. Primarily, the silver-tongued Jon Favreau has all the best lines, presumably because he wrote them all himself. Garner is beautiful and fierce, acting circles around the leading man with a minimum of smart scripting to help her. Duncan suitably embodies the brick-wall menace of the Kingpin. While a feral Farrell is way, way over the top as the snorting, heaving, eye-popping man-of-few-words Bullseye, you won't be able to take your eyes off him. Comic book fans will also buzz and bombinate over the frequent in-joke references to comic-book artists and two key appearances: one by film director and former Daredevil comic writer Kevin Smith and, natch, a Hitchcockian cameo from Marvel Comics godfather and Daredevil co-creator Stan Lee. In fits and starts, the story locates operatically scaled emotion, as with the affecting use of the romantic phrase "Stay with me."
The major problems are two-fold: Ben Affleck and Mark Steven Johnson. Affleck's lanky, offhand softness hardly suits the superheroic archetype, and his acting ability isn't enough to overcome the basic miscasting. Worse, Johnson refuses to decide whether Daredevil is a campy, just-this-side-of-comedy romp like Batman Forever or a moody revenger like The Crow.
The result is a noisy, murky mess of underdeveloped characters who are difficult to take seriously and action so overpowering it defies you to try to watch it. Each action sequence is a sensory overload with too-tight framing, dutch angles, quick-cuts, and strobing lights. If I were one of the hardworking cast or crew responsible for the elaborate fights--like Affleck, Garner, or action choreographer Cheung-Yan Yuen (of the upcoming Matrix sequels)--the spectacle of the obscured finished product of their labors might inspire some real-life vigilante justice.
The R-rated Director's Cut of Daredevil deserves an extra half-star. With approximately a half-hour of added footage, everything plays just a little bit better. Matt Murdock is a more well-rounded character, more isolated and more actively heroic as we see him defend and investigate on behalf of an innocent client (Coolio). The fight scenes are given a bit more room to breathe and are thereby more coherent. Much of Jon Favreau's cutting-room-floor footage has been reinserted, and scenes that weaken Murdock's sense of isolation (confessions to the priest and a love scene with Elektra) have been excised. The Director's Cut has effectively supplanted the theatrical cut in the minds of fans and as the home-video standard (see review below). According to the rumor will, Marvel will revisit Daredevil in an Affleck-less reboot--the Director's Cut is a half-step in the right direction of taking the character a bit more seriously.
Fox has done right by Daredevil with its new definitive Blu-ray release of the Daredevil: Director's Cut. The only thing lacking on this fully-packed special edition of the preferred version of the film are the complete sequences from the theatrical cut that aren't in the director's cut (though they are glimpsed in a comparative featurette). This mostly dark and rain-glossed film gets a significant upgrade in image-quality on Fox Blu-ray: though not an image with the dimensional "pop" of reference-quality Blu-ray, colors are accurate and detail is fine for an exciting and best-yet rendering of the film. As for the audio, Daredevil gets the lossless treatment of DTS-HD, and this is a film with an immersive mix to benefit from the DTS route.
Having not previously invested in Daredevil on DVD, I found myself mightily impressed by the Director's Cut package on Blu-ray. Aside from the significant improvements of the expanded 124-minute cut, the disc offers a monumental suite of bonus features covering the film's comic-book origins, development, production, and more. During playback, there's an Enhanced Viewing Mode in which an icon gives access to a multilayered behind-the-scenes look at the evolution of key sequences, all narrated by visual effects producer John Kilkenny, as well as the Fact and Fiction Feature offering production notes and factoids on story, character, and the Marvel Universe. An audio commentary by writer-director Mark Steven Johnson and producer Avi Arad proves surprisingly cordial, as the two pleasantly trade thoughts on the reasoning for and varying upsides to the theatrical cut and the director's cut.
The jewels in the bonus-features crown are two hour-long documentaries. The first, "Beyond Hell's Kitchen: Making Daredevil" (58:51), is a highly entertaining and comprehensive making-of doc, covering how Johnson got the reins, the battles over the suit and its prototypical design variations, the cast and characters, fights, wire work, editing, effects, and music. This doc from the 2003 Director's Cut special edition DVD features comments from Johnson, Arad, Kilkenny, producer Gary Foster, costume designer James Acheson, textile artist Matt Reitsma, art department coordinator Jamie Neese, costume supervisor Lisa Lovaas, Paul Ben-Victor, Joe Pantoliano, action choreographer Master Cheung-Yan Yuen, Jennifer Garner, stunt coordinator Jeff Imada, Ben Affleck, Colin Farrell, Affleck's fight trainer David Lea, director of photography Ericson Core, sight-impaired consultant Tom Sullivan, Jon Favreau, special effects coordinator John McLeod, visual effects supervisor Rich Thorne, Shadow World fx lead Eric Horton, and composer Graeme Revell.
Even more exciting for Daredevil fans is "The Men Without Fear: Creating Daredevil" (59:15), a fantastic series of sit-downs with the most influential writers and artists in Daredevil's comic-book history: co-creator Stan Lee, Frank Miller, John Romita, John Romita Jr., Gene Colan, Joe Quesada, David Mack, Brian Michael Bendis, and Kevin Smith. Also quite important is "Giving the Devil His Due" (15:26), a featurette which sorts out the difference between the theatrical and director's cuts of the film, using clips and comments by Johnson, Arad, Foster and film editor Dennis Virkler.
The very cool "Moving Through Space: A Day with Tom Sullivan" (8:28) takes us up close and personal with the film's sight-impairment consultant and his wife Patricia as they go about their daily lives and hobbies, demonstrating the opposite of "handicapped" inhibition. Less thrilling is the largely redundant HBO First Look special "Daredevil: From the Comic to the Big Screen" (24:50), though it's nice to see it included for completeness' sake. Hosted by Jennifer Garner, the show features footage culled from the same EPK interviews with Affleck, Arad, Johnson, Foster, Pantoliano, Duncan, Farrell, Lee, Favreau, Imada, Lea, Reitsma, Lovaas, specialty costumers Jill Thraves and Deborah Ambrosino.
The disc refuses to quit, offering a funny Easter Egg Gag Reel (6:06); "Jennifer Garner Screen Tests" (2:31); "Featured Villain: Kingpin" (2:21), featuring an interview with Michael Clarke Duncan; Multi-Angle Dailies of the Daredevil/Kingpin fight and Elektra/Bullseye fight (3:18 with "Play All" option); a teaser and two trailers with a "Play All" option; three Music Videos with a "Play All" option (Fuel's "Won't Back Down," The Calling's "For You," Evanescence's "Bring Me to Life," and a "Music Promo Spot"); Still Galleries in the categories of Storyboards, Costumes, Set Designs, Production Stills, and Props; and "Shadow World Tour" (6:17), a still gallery claiming to offer "modelling sheets" but actually presenting the equivalent of trading cards, with character stats from the Marvel Encyclopedia.
With the comic-book craze at full-bore, the Daredevil Director's Cut deserves a second-look, especially in the full HD of Blu-ray.
Review gear: |
Panasonic Viera TC-P55VT30 55" Plasma 1080p 3D HDTV
Oppo BDP-93 Universal Network 3D Blu-ray Disc Player
Denon AVR2112CI Integrated Network A/V Surround Receiver
Pioneer SP-BS41-LR Bookshelf Speaker (2)
Pioneer SP-C21 Center Speaker
Pioneer SW-8 Subwoofer


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By Reviewed by Jason Blake
Belvoir, February 8, until March 10
NAKKIAH LUI'S debut play, written as a junior resident at Belvoir while completing a law degree, pulls no punches. It throws a few, too.
After an impressionistic introduction, a newsreader informs us of the facts: arrested for driving under the influence and crashing a car into a fence, Robert Gordon, a respected member of Mount Druitt's Aboriginal community, is taken into custody, and later found dead in his cell.
An autopsy revealed severe trauma consistent with a beating. Not so, countered the police defence team, the injuries were sustained in the car accident, and no one can prove otherwise. The only witness, the dead man's son Ducky, is blind and, therefore, his statement "lacks credibility".
And so a good family with law-abiding instincts is left high, dry and furious, with no prospect of justice, no meaningful compensation, and, thanks to a gag order, no voice.
It's the latter that pushes Ducky (Travis Cardona) and his elder sister Sissy (Jada Alberts), a final year law student, towards a violent showdown. Thanks in part to its relatively swift journey from blank page to a fully-fledged stage production, there is a palpable urgency in Lui's writing. The script bears some of the hallmarks of youth (and why shouldn't it?) but there are passages of searing insight, too. Lui's characters are driven to extremes, but they remain credible throughout.
Lee Lewis's production is carefully developed and stark, played in a charcoal black space. Smoke - real smoke - is pumped into the room as the play comes to its climax, adding to the incendiary mood. The performances Lewis draws from her cast are perfectly in tune with the play, especially those of Tessa Rose, as Robert's widow Joan, and Joshua Anderson as the pragmatic young copper operating on instinct and fear.

subset: commoncrawl


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Burlington - Kenosha, WI (#1014)
Kenosha, WI (#1014)
Kenosha, WI 53142
Store Hours
- Sunday 9:00am To - 10:00pm
- Monday 9:00am To - 10:30pm
- Tuesday 9:00am To - 10:30pm
- Wednesday 9:00am To - 10:30pm
- Thursday 9:00am To - 10:30pm
- Friday 9:00am To - 11:00pm
- Saturday 9:00am To - 11:00pm
About Burlington - Kenosha, WI
Burlington is a major discount retailer offering WOW deals on customers' favorite brands for the entire family and home at up to 60% off other retailers' prices* every day. Your store in Kenosha, WI located at Plaza 50 includes fashionable clothing for women, men, kids and baby, along with beauty, shoes, accessories, home decor, toys, gifts and of course, coats.
Jumpstart the new year with BIG savings on quality name-brand activewear for everyone. During our Winter Clearance event, discover deals on all you need to refresh your home like bins, storage organizers, even cute hampers to get your home organized this new year. Stock up on the everyday essentials and basics like socks and underwear, that won't go over your budget.
As you continue into Winter, don't forget to stop in-store to find Valentine's Day gifts for your loved ones for Valentine's Day. Whether it's her signature scent and his favorite fragrance, or a handbag for her and some sneakers for him… there are so many deals you can find at your Burlington. With the low prices and high quality, it's like your one-stop-shop for ladies, mens, kids, juniors, pets – everyone!


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Parshat Balak
Balak, king of Moav, is in morbid fear of Bnei Yisrael. He summons a renowned sorcerer named Bilaam to curse them. First, G-d speaks to Bilaam and forbids him to go. But, because Bilaam is so insistent, G-d appears to him a second time and permits him to go. While en route, a malach (emissary from G-d) blocks Bilaam's donkey's path. Unable to contain his frustration, Bilaam strikes the donkey each time it stops or tries to detour. Miraculously, the donkey speaks, asking Bilaam why he is hitting her. The malach instructs Bilaam regarding what he is permitted to say and what he is forbidden to say regarding the Jewish People. When Bilaam arrives, King Balak makes elaborate preparations, hoping that Bilaam will succeed in the curse. Three times Bilaam attempts to curse and three times blessings issue instead. Balak, seeing that Bilaam has failed, sends him home in disgrace.
Bnei Yisrael begin sinning with the Moabite women and worshipping the Moabite idols, and they are punished with a plague. One of the Jewish leaders brazenly brings a Midianite princess into his tent, in full view of Moshe and the people. Pinchas, a grandson of Aharon, grabs a spear and kills both evildoers. This halts the plague, but not before 24,000 have died.
"Behold! It is a nation that will dwell in solitude and not be reckoned among the nations." (23:9)
A man jumps off the top of the Empire State building. As he is plunging downward, accelerating at 32 feet per second squared, someone sticks his head out of the window on the 29th floor and yells to him "Are you okay?" Smiling, he shouts back "So far, so good!"
America has proved a home of unparalleled acceptance for the Jewish People. The United States has the merit of supporting enormous amounts of Torah scholarship. However, the rampant assimilation that is also a facet of American life should give us pause. We cannot afford to sit back and say "So far, so good."
The Jewish People are, in essence, an entity that exists in solitude. They are removed from the rest of society because they are essentially different from the other nations. Like oil and water, they cannot mix. And when they seem to mix, the eventual separation is violent and tragic in direct proportion to the desire to blend into the melting-pot. The Jews of Germany proclaimed their undying loyalty to a Germany that killed and tortured them. It took the horror of the gas chambers to serve as a reminder that Berlin was not Jerusalem.
In this week's weekly Torah portion we find a hint to the solitary nature of the Jewish People: "Behold! It is a nation that will dwell in solitude and not be reckoned among the nations." The Hebrew word in this sentence for 'It is' is hen. Hen consists of two letters, heh and nun. The gematria (numerical equivalent) of heh is five. Five is a unique number. It dwells alone. It has no partner other than itself. In the series of numbers from one to nine, all other numbers will combine with a different number to make ten. One and nine. Two and eight. And so on. However, five combines only with itself. It dwells alone and can only combine with itself to reach ten.
Similarly, the letter nun is exactly halfway through the extended Hebrew alphabet of twenty-seven letters. Nun is letter 13. If you pair the first letter with the last, the second with the penultimate letter, and so on, each letter will have a partner. Until you come to the 13th letter. The heh and the nun are like the Jewish People. A nation that dwells alone.
- Source: Rabbi Menachem Nissel


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Binman killing: Victim bludgeoned to death as '˜payback'
Stephen Whitehead (49) was found slumped in his favourite chair in the canteen at Pendle Skip Hire in Burnley, after being attacked by Aaron Jenkins - a casual worker who had been sacked following a fight with Mr Whitehead.
Jenkins (20), of Burnley, admits killing Mr Whitehead in an act of revenge after breaking into the yard and discovering him sleeping in the canteen, when the site was shut overnight.
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Hide AdHe told police he had broken into the yard to steal a motorbike but when he heard a radio playing in the canteen, he said: "I had a look in and I saw Stephen Whitehead and thought this is my time to get him back, like payback kind of thing.
"I've seen something, like a sledgehammer, I've picked it up, gone back to the canteen. At that point, I've smacked him a couple of times with it, then just walked off."
Jenkins, who has moderate learning difficulties, denies murder but admits manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
Mr Whitehead was found by colleagues who opened up the site around 7am on Monday, July 27th, last year.
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Hide AdAs Graham Bennett waited for someone to open the gate, he saw Jenkins, who he recognised as a casual worker who had been at the site some weeks before.
He started talking about a fight with Mr Whitehead, saying it had started because Mr Whitehead had called him lazy.
The fight, on July 10th, which resulted in both men needing hospital treatment, was witnessed by other workers at the yard, who said there had been a simmering argument after Jenkins had been accused of not pulling his weight while separating waste on a conveyor belt.
Opening the trial at Preston Crown Court, Francis McEntee (prosecuting) said: "As a consequence Aaron Jenkins had been put to work in the yard with Stephen Whitehead. It was not long before Stephen Whitehead also criticised Aaron Jenkins for being lazy, resulting in insults and threats being exchanged, before Aaron Jenkins took off his shirt and began bouncing around like a boxer, threatening to knock out Stephen Whitehead before punching him."
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Hide AdBoth men were injured during the scuffle when they fell onto some porcelain. As Jenkins' arm bled, he continued to threaten Mr Whitehead.
Following the fight, manager Chris Gorton told Jenkins not to come back to work at the site.
Other workers suspected Mr Whitehead had been sleeping in the canteen as he never accepted a lift home and would wash and change at work.
When Jenkins broke in on the night of July 25th and saw Mr Whitehead asleep between two chairs, he collected a sledgehammer from the office and rained down five or six heavy blows to Mr Whitehead's head.
He said: "I was a bit drunk. I thought payback time."
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Hide AdMr McEntee said: "Aaron Jenkins has moderate learning difficulties - that is not disputed. The issue in this case will be whether this abnormality diminishes his responsibility for killing Mr Whitehead so he should properly be convicted of manslaughter as opposed to murder.
"It will be asserted the defendant's abnormality of mental functioning substantially impaired his ability to exercise self control and secondly this abnormality provides an explanation for his actions in killing Mr Whitehead."


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In a new NextLevelGuitar.com lesson inspired by Black Sabbath's "Planet Caravan," guitarist Dave Nassie covers the E minor chord.
Said Nassie: "We are going to talk about how we can take some really nice clean-tone E minor approaches to creating an intro in songs, really looking at how this particular artist did it in their context, so we can get some almost scary sounding E minor tonalities. They work great over a pentatonic scale, and it's another way to experience jamming while we are practicing."
Check out the lesson after the jump.


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Kids Just Wanna Have Fun
Posted on 09/23/2016For an awesome family vacation where the kids can have the time of their life (including you!), look no further than an all-inclusive getaway to Mexico and the Caribbean. We all remember what it was like being young, and while some things haven't changed as to what kids want in a vacation (a big pool, lots of ice cream, cool activities that fit their interests), all-inclusive resorts offer kids more amenities and activities to choose from than ever before.
For one flat-rate, all-inclusive family resorts basically include everything — accommodations, meals, some activities and excursions.
All you have to do is relax and choose which activities and excursions you want to join in on. So when it comes to choosing the perfect all-inclusive resort for your family, it's best to first consult the real experts: the kids.
Try Something Different, Something New
Kids deserve plenty of credit for being open to new experiences that are vastly different from what they're used to back home. In fact, given the opportunity, most kiddos welcome the chance to try something new no matter how exotic and otherworldly the experience or destination may first appear — and it's those kind of experiences that create fond memories for life. Beyond fantastic weather, great food is what people — including kids — most remember about a vacation. Of course, when the kids are having a good time, they are much more likely to try new things, including food. "The whole point of going somewhere on vacation is to see new stuff and try weird foods you don't have at home, but not too weird," says Olivia (10) from Seattle. "One time we went to Mexico and the resort had cactus at the buffet. I had never eaten it before. My dad dared me to try it and I did! It was really slimy, but good." If you have your own budding chef or just want to enjoy great food — with a focus on quality over quantity — the Nickelodeon™ Hotels & Resort Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic is prime for your crew. Every minute of every day at this five-star Gourmet Inclusive® playcation destination serves up luxury amenities and infinite Nickelodeon family entertainment.
Many all-inclusive resorts offer everything from babysitting services, kids and teen clubs, gourmet restaurants and an extensive list of activities that run the gamut from arts & crafts to yoga. Resorts throughout Mexico and the Caribbean provide a very unique vacation experience for families as they typically offer everything you need (and more) for one price. While parents appreciate their unbeatable value, kids will come to love the wide array of activities and new experiences they offer. When asked about what he was looking forward to on his family's upcoming vacation to Jamaica, Max (9) from Montreal said: "I can't wait to go snorkeling with my dad and brother and see a green sea turtle.They're my favorite animal! But my mom and little sister are just going to stay by the pool and take a nap.But I don't think you should go on vacation just to sleep."
Better yet, many of these properties are also located near world-renowned natural and archeological sites (typically an addition fee) that are prime for "wowing" the kids. For Julie (7) of San Diego, her family's recent trip to Mexico also brings a smile to her face. "I always forget the name of the place we went to, so I call it Chicken Pizza [Chichen Itza]," she said. "There were all these really old buildings that had steps on them that went to the top. It was really cool! Another day we went on a boat to go fishing and we saw lots of dolphins jumping out of the water. I think they wanted to eat the fish we caught."
Families looking for a resort that is near many great day trip destinations should consider Dreams Los Cabos Suites Golf Resort & Spa in Mexico. Part of AMResort's collection of luxury resort destinations, Dreams Los Cabos is set along the sparkling Sea of Cortez, surrounded by eight championship golf courses and many day trips excursions that include ziplining, horseback riding, and ocean fishing.
Reach out to one of your Travel Consultants today, they can plan something memorable and exclusive for you and your family.
Hero image: "Com'on in the water's fine!" by flattop341, Flickr.com is licensed under CC BY 2.0


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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Peyton Manning tied yet another NFL record Thursday when he won his sixth career Offensive Player of the Month award.
Manning joined Kurt Warner (2001) as the only players with 10 TDs, 1,300 yards, a 70 percent completion percentage and five wins in December as the Broncos (13-3) captured the top seed in the AFC playoffs.
He did it while wearing a glove on his throwing hand, testing it in home games against the Browns and Chiefs in preparation for cold weather games in January. Manning never bothered with a glove while playing indoors in Indianapolis.
"You know, for wearing it for the first time in my entire football career, I guess you could say it's been OK the past two weeks," Manning said.
He's been more than OK: His completion percentage was 5.8 points higher and his QB rating was 19.2 points better that it was without the glove.
"Yeah, he can throw with a glove, he can throw without a glove; he can play a lot of different ways," tight end Jacob Tamme said. "It's been pretty impressive to see him throw with a glove on and it's like it's not even there. It's working great."
Manning completed 123 of 174 passes (70.7 percent) for 1,399 yards with 11 touchdowns with three interceptions and a 108.4 passer rating in December. In the regular season finale, he broke Brett Favre's record with his 73rd career game with three or more TD passes.
Manning also won the honor in October, making this the first season he's won it twice in one season. He's one of seven players to win the honor six times since the award was instituted in 1986, a list that includes active QBs Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers.


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You have a vision for your career and where you want it to go. We want to help you see that vision come to life, so we are challenging the way people experience and build their careers.
As a locally focused firm, we're dedicated to the success of each advisor who joins our team and provide the knowledge, support, and planning to help you build a successful business. In addition to development and business support, you'll have the ability to work alongside our senior representatives, have access to the leadership team for additional development and mentoring, and back office support for your practice as well.
As a member of The Guardian Network®, our advisors also have access to national training, business resources and a network of like-minded peers to help guide you as you build your business and your career, whatever direction it should take.
Our advisors have a passion to succeed through hard work, an entrepreneurial spirit, and a drive to continually challenge themselves and their definition of success.
Joining The Guardian Network means becoming a part of a "financial philosophy".
For the 5th year in a row, Guardian was awarded a Training Top 100 Award from Training Magazine. Now in its 21st year, the Training Top 100 Award indicates excellence in training and development programs as well as a company's commitment to helping its employees grow in their career.
Benefits of a Supportive Community with The Guardian Network
A career that emphasizes quality over quantity


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AA 3003 is alloyed with 1.20% manganese, which increases the strength of AA 3003 over commercially pure aluminium (1100 series). AA 3003 has excellent workability, weldability, and good corrosion resistance. It is used for drawing, forming, spinning, fuel tanks, sheet metal works and other applications that require moderate strength for an aluminium with good weldability.
Applications of Aluminium Alloy 3003
Aluminium alloy 3003 sheets exhibit moderate strength and very good corrosion resistance which makes it an ideal alloy to use for jacketing on mechanical insulation systems. It is widely used for stampings, spun and drawn parts and products, cooking utensils, chemical equipment, builders hardware, storage tanks, truck and trailer components, mail boxes, cabinets, fan blades, awnings, siding, kitchen equipment, decorative trim, architectural uses, signage applications
Table of commonly stocked sizes for Aluminium Alloy 3003
The AA 3003 sheets available with us are of HINDALCO-INDIA make and all genuine HINDALCO sheets carry Ink Stencil Marks on individual sheets showing Mill name, Alloy Temper etc. We provide mill test certificates with matching coil/heat numbers as per ASTM standards with all our deliveries if requested.
Below are the sizes available with us in our warehouses in China & Sharjah
Aluminium Sheet Thickness (mm) | Size 2438mm x 1219mm (4' x 8') |
0.6 | |
0.7 | |
0.8 | |
0.9 | |
1.0 | |
1.2 | |
1.5 | |
2.0 | |
3.0 | |
4.0 |
Other non standard sizes are available on request. Please inquire
Other Alumiunium Alloys
We offer a variety of plain Aluminium sheet metal. Different alloys offer a range of weldability, machinability and resistance to corrosion.


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Political Science
Kristine Servais and William Muck to give Last Lecture
May 08, 2014
North Central College students voted to invite two faculty members—Kristine Servais, associate professor of education, and William Muck, assistant professor of political science—to speak at the annual Last Lecture. The free event will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 14, in Smith Hall at Old Main. A dessert reception will follow the event.
Servais will give a lecture titled "Lessons in Leadership: Lollipops, Lions, and Lobsters." Muck will discuss "Oh, the Places You'll Go! ... And Why You Should Care about Everyone You Meet on the Way." This year's College Union Activities Board (CUAB) invited two speakers, who were among the top vote-getters, to represent two different majors, education and political science. CUAB also chose a theme for the 2014 lecture: "Oh, the Places You'll Go," from Dr. Seuss.
Servais joined North Central's faculty in 2002 and earned her Ed.D. from Northern Illinois University. She has served as a middle school and elementary teacher, middle school assistant principal and principal, and is the graduate coordinator in education at North Central. Servais has provided extensive outreach to partner with area school districts, including Naperville 203, Indian Prairie 204, Oswego 308 and East Aurora 131. She has coauthored two books directed at future leaders: "The Courage to Grow: Leading with Intentionality" (2012) and "The Courage to Lead: Choosing the Road Less Traveled" (2005). She serves as the faculty mentor for the College's women's lacrosse team and will retire in June 2014.
Prior to arriving at North Central in 2008, Muck taught at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock after receiving his doctorate from the University of Colorado. Muck oversees the College's global studies and Model UN programs, co-coordinates the Rall Symposium for Undergraduate Research and teaches a variety of courses on international politics. A favorite teacher among North Central students, Muck received the 2010 Dissinger Award for Junior Faculty.
Like many colleges and universities nationwide, North Central has adopted the concept of The Last Lecture where faculty talk to their students as if it was their last. This is the seventh year the College Union Activities Board (CUAB) has sponsored North Central's Last Lecture.
Previous North Central last lecturers include Al Carius, professor of health and physical education, head men's cross country coach and associate head men's track and field coach, 2013; Harold Wilde, president emeritus, 2012; Lou Corsino, professor of sociology, 2011; Susan Mack, visiting instructor of education, 2010; Perry Hamalis, Cecilia Schneller Mueller Professor of Religion, associate professor of religious studies and director of academic opportunities, 2009; and Stephen Maynard Caliendo, professor of political science, 2008.


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The suicide last week of Aaron Swartz, a prominent Internet developer and activist, is sparking a discussion in Startupland about an issue that's rarely publicized: the prevalence of depression in the tech community.
Swartz struggled for years with the mental health disorder, and wrote about it occasionally in his blog. "I feel ashamed to have an illness," he wrote in a 2007 post. "It sounds absurd, but there still is an enormous stigma around being sick."
Silicon Valley doesn't generally nurture the sick. Especially for entrepreneurs and those helping to build their startups, the tech industry is a high-risk, high-reward environment, with 20-hour days and millions of dollars at stake.
Ben Huh, CEO of the Cheezburger Web humor empire, wrote publicly about his struggles after his first startup failed.
"I was thoroughly broke, depressed, and feeling the burden of losing hundreds of thousands of dollars of other people's money," he wrote in his blog. "I spent a week in my room with the lights off and cut off from the world, thinking of the best way to exit this failure. Death was a good option -- and it got better by the day."
Huh posted his story in the wake of another suicide that shook the industry: The late 2011 death of Ilya Zhitomirskiy, the 22-year-old co-founder of social network Diaspora. Zhitomirskiy battled depression all his life, and the pressure of building a startup that never took off weighed on him, according to those close to him.
Swartz's death is sparking a fresh round of soul-searching.
"It's a major issue, and it's one of the least talked about things in the Valley," says serial entrepreneur Sam Altman, who was a Y Combinator classmate of Schwartz's. "The emotional rollercoaster is very lonely, and the downtimes are really down."
Related story: Going public with depression
Y Combinator is the incubator where Swartz hatched a venture that folded into what later become Reddit. It provides fledgling entrepreneurs with mentors and guest speakers, and many of them now touch on issues of mental health and stress, Altman says.
"You think 'how low can the lows really be?'" he says.
Venture capitalist Ben Horowitz tried to answer that question last summer in a widely circulated post called "The Struggle."
The Struggle "is when you want the pain to stop. The Struggle is unhappiness," he wrote. "When you are in The Struggle, nothing is easy and nothing feels right. You have dropped into the abyss and you may never get out."
While those who face The Struggle don't necessarily struggle with depression, many do. I've interviewed many entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-dollar companies. One recently told me about a day when he simply locked himself in his office and cried.
Related story: What do we know about mood disorders?
Investor Brad Feld, who has battled an anxiety disorder all his life, says one the hardest things for those fighting the disease is opening up about it.
"Many entrepreneurs don't feel like they can talk openly about their depression, as they don't want their investors, employees, or customers to know they are struggling with it," he says. "For anyone who has been depressed, not being able to be open about it with the people around you makes depression even harder to deal with."
Depression is what psychiatrists classify as a mood disorder. It's a condition in which "mood gets stuck," according to CNN mental health expert Dr. Charles Raison, an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
Here's how he describes it: "While most of us feel better or worse based on what's happening in our lives, but always within limits, people with serious mood disorders often remain frozen in states of profound despair or unrealistic euphoria for extended periods."
Swartz had his own description of what it felt like: "You feel as if streaks of pain are running through your head, you thrash your body, you search for some escape but find none," he wrote. "And this is one of the more moderate forms."
Still, he was determined to keep pushing himself forward: keep hacking, keep moving.
"Go out and test yourself today: pick a task just hard enough that you might fail, and try to succeed at it," he advised in one blog post. "Reality is painful -- it's so much easier to keep doing stuff you know you're good at or else to pick something so hard there's no point at which it's obvious you're failing -- but it's impossible to get better without confronting it."
Swartz's family, friends, and the collective Internet community will always ask themselves what projects he would have taken on next.
As Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, tweeted in tribute: "Aaron dead. World wanderers, we have lost a wise elder. Hackers for right, we are down. Parents all, we have lost a child. Let us weep."


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ASP.NET based content management system, DotNetNuke celebrated 10 years of development on December 24, 2012. Over the last 10 years, DotNetNuke slowly climbed the ladder from a simple application to one of the most advanced products available for the ASP.NET community.
DotNetNuke was originally launched under the name IBuySpy as an open source project by Shaun Walker by extending IBuySpy Portal, which was at that time offered by Microsoft for free.
In 2003, the IBuySpy Workshop was renamed DotNetNuke and Shaun formed a core team to build various modules and skins after gathering feedback from developers. The project also achieved a significant milestone when Microsoft provided sponsorship for all the activities for DotNetNuke.
A new marketplace portal, Snowcovered was launched in 2004 along with DotNetNuke 2.0 to sell skins and modules developed by third party developers. It was a revenue generating site for developers because they received payment for the sale of their products.
The year 2005 witnessed the launch of 3.0 and 4.0 including the launch of the first DotNetNuke book published by Wrox. Nik Kalyani created the first logo for the application which is still used on the official website of DotNetNuke. DotNetNuke was incorporated into an LLC in 2006 with four founders and two full time contractors after it achieved nearly 1 million download from various countries in 2005.
In 2007, Navin Nagiah joined as business advisor and hosted the first OpenForce conference in Europe. Subsequently, OpenForce was organized in the United States in collaboration with DevConnections. The company officially announced the launch of its own in-house marketplace and claimed 3 million downloads that same year.
DotNetNuke partnered with Microsoft for the development of CodePlex project page in 2008 and organized the second OpenForce conference. The company also got significant funding from investors and conducted a regional OpenForce connect event in Orlando.
The project was distributed solely as a free open source solution until 2009 when the first professional edition was launched. DotNetNuke hosted the third OpenForce DevConnections conference the same year.
DotNetNuke also acquired Snowcovered.com and branded it into the official store. DotNetNuke also announced the launch of its partner program along with version 5 code-named Cambrian.
In 2010, DotNetNuke secured more than 1,000 commercial customers for its professional edition and also saw the launch of its enterprise edition along with the second round of funding from investors. It also acquired training materials from Engage Software, open document library and open search from Xepient Solutions. During 2010, DotNetNuke achieved a significant milestone of 5 million downloads.
In 2011, DotNetNuke released versions 6.0 and 6.1 which provided a modern user interface and extensive mobile support. DotNetNuke also signed up service agreements with 2,000 commercial customers. During the year, DotNetNuke organized the first DNNWorld conference and acquired ActiveModules. The company was also listed as one of the companies among the top 500 by Inc Magazine.
As of December 31, 2012, the application received a total of 7 million downloads and secured a strategic alliance with Microsoft to deploy DotNetNuke in the Windows Azure cloud. DotNetNuke also acquired iFinity, a website and software development company headquartered in Queensland, Australia to provide complete URL management solution for the upcoming releases.
The company also organized the second DNNWorld conference and launched MVP program in 2012 to recognize those professionals who are familiar with DotNetNuke and devote time to share their expertise and knowledge among the community.
DotNetNuke currently has more than 1 million community members who frequently participate in discussion forums. The volunteers answer queries posted by users and also help in the development of modules, plugins and skins, besides beta testing new builds before their final release.
"As you can see, since its launch a decade ago, DotNetNuke has made great strides in the ASP.NET industry, achieving many milestones helping customers and developers to reach their goals. We'll be keeping an eye on what the next 10 years will bring," said Tracey Sheehy, Spokesperson for DotNetNuke.
"Known for its exceptional flexibility, DNN also functions as a web application development framework, using open APIs which allow for easy integration with other applications," mentions Cara Pluff who works as an account manager with Applied Innovations while comparing three other popular content management system/blog platforms.
"I think DNN is very mature product and if you have the time to learn it, it certainly will pay off," said Peter, ASP.NET developer. However, he expresses his concern over the speed of sites powered with DotNetNuke.
While comparing Joomla and DotNetNuke, DataSprings, DotNetNuke partner observed that while DotNetNuke has an advantage in core functionality, it lacks some of the third party extensions which make Joomla so appealing. The article also outlines the fact that Joomla's style of administration is not as elegant as DotNetNuke's in-line editing, and generally the framework is not as flexible.
"Tight integration with existing systems and a usable e-commerce solution out of the box make DotNetNuke a winning formula for companies who want to set up an initial online sales presence," mentions DataSprings as a conclusion on their comparison article.


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I have a bunch of inspiring calendar samples and ideas to show you today, downloads for our 2 new 2013 Calendars and some photos from my collection of antique calendars so pull up a chair as there is much to see! I'm going to divide this into 2 posts.
First, this is a decorative December page title from an antique book I thought you might enjoy. The lettering is my favorite part and it would be lovely printed on cream card stock with some faux snow and glitter added.
I love old calendars and I've been collecting them for years. In the mid 1800's advertising and premium calendars began to grow in popularity as lithographic printing improved and there were some amazing printing being done with fancy embossing and intricate die cut edges. Check out this 3D calendar I recently got and you can see how the 'doors' opened and 2 ladies came out on bicycles. Love the pansies!
This was a fold out calendar you received for getting an annual magazine subscription. You could pop in family photos
Many calendars were elaborate with dials and movable parts. I love the colors and embossed edges on the calendar below which hangs in my office. You can turn the big round dial on the back to show the 4 seasons through the pie shaped window. It's a year at a glance calendar which are so handy. I adore the quote:
Month by month, and day by day, as the year speeds on it's way, May he brightest joys unfold, And when all the hours are told and he silently departs, With Happy memories fill our hearts
This is one of my favorite frames and one that I plan on offering as a kit. It has 3 big frames and I love the birds on the other 2 pages just not these cover birds so much as their faces are so dark. You could just glue new months on each year
We started giving away a free printable calendar back in 2008 to go with our vintage images so people could create their own special calendars. I made this birthday calendar card a few years ago for a dear friend who use to be a hair dresser and I knew would get a kick out it. The image is from our Childhood Booklet on sale for $4.99. I cut out and stapled the remaining 6 months of the year together, highlighted her birthday and used a combo of our stamps and a Stardust Gelly Roll Pen to add some sparkle. Our Calendars have gotten nicer.
I usually give Cindy our graphic designer a few old calendars to scan and she uses bits and pieces to create with. Our Seasonal Scraps below were super popular but they were re-printed in 2010 and not all the months work now so they are on clearance for $1.25 and fold out to 18" long. Cindy created the free printable matching calendar so so people could still use all the colored images and month titles on this double sided sheet.
Here's one of our Free 2013 Printable Calendars designed to match the Seasonal sheet above. Just left click on it a couple of times to make it as large as possible, then right click to save to a picture gallery. Here's a link to a higher quality PDF file for our 2014 Calendar 2 Style. We now also have a B/W version with ideas on our Blog
Here are 2 cards DT Member Michele Kovack created using the other style calendar below.
This calendar is a more traditional box style and can be printed on paper or card stock. NoTE: Here's a link to a high quality PDF File of this 2014 Calendar 1 Style as the picture jpg below can't keep the 300 dpi resolution. Plus - we also now have these in B/W 2014 Calendars with easy and fun ideas
Here is the Day 2 link to this post with 25 calendar samples and another project sheet!
Be sure to check out our DT Challenge and December Linky Party
also see our NEW Retro Christmas and and Vintage Christmas Downloads!
Sandy Redburn
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Dropbox for iOS update adds a PDF viewer and file share notifications
Earlier today, Dropbox rolled out version 2.1 of its iOS app with a trio of enhancements in tow. The update, which requires iOS 5.0 or higher introduces a new PDF viewer, file sorting by date modified, and push notifications for when someone shares a folder with you (which were also recently added to the Android client). Whether you're a Dropbox power user or the casual type, this new software bump should definitely come in handy. If you're a stickler for keeping your apps current and you've got 13.8MB to spare, the update's waiting for you at the source link below.


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Protect the expensive finish on your Range Rover from the ravages of tree sap and finish-fading UV rays with this premium car cover from Covercraft. Made of Technalon® Evolution® 4-layer non-woven polypropylene fabric, this custom-fit cover provides maximum protection in all weather conditions and also "breathes" to allow trapped moisture to escape. Extensive testing in Florida K-C has confirmed Evolution has the highest UPF rating of all Covercraft non-woven fabrics. This is important because UV rays are what damage both the exterior AND interior of any vehicle. Block the UV rays - protect the vehicle!
Durable, double-stitch construction and elastic hem fits snugly around the unique contours of your Rover, with or without a brush bar. Handy storage bag and cable lock for added security are also available.
To ensure parts fit your vehicle, please select your rover below.


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Based on the hit TV show, Star Wars RebelsTM!
Star Wars Rebels: Recon
Rebels wanted! Are you ready to stand up against the Empire? Become an intergalactic hero in Star Wars Rebels™: Recon Missions, the new action-platformer mobile game!
Take on 4 FREE levels of battle against the Empire as Ezra Bridger, dodge TIE fighters, blast Stormtroopers, and drive an Imperial AT-MP. With in-app purchases, wield a LightsaberTM, fight Star Wars™ bosses, drive an AT-DP, and unlock 30 more levels and 50+ unique challenges. Customize and expand a secret Rebel Haven where heroes can hide out and rescue citizens. And, interact with characters like Zeb the muscle of the Ghost team, Hera the pilot, and even Chopper the grumpy Droid™.
Fight to save citizens of Lothal and restore hope to the Star Wars Rebels universe by joining the rebellion today!
For Everyone:
BATTLE against the Empire as Ezra Bridger, the street-smart hero, and dodge TIE fighters
DRIVE an Imperial AT-MP and activate boosts to take down the Empire's legion
COLLECT Hope and gift to citizens to earn boosts
CUSTOMIZE your secret Rebel Haven with rewards like living units, towers, building mods, and art
DISCOVER secret rooms, Stormtrooper helmets, and play to earn rewards from Chopper
With In-App Purchases:
UNLOCK 30 additional levels, with more Empire enemies, boosts, secret rooms, and rewards to expand your Rebel Haven
BATTLE STAR WARS BOSSES including TIE bombers, AT-DPs, and TIE fighters
WIELD a Lightsaber as Kanan Jarrus, the cowboy Jedi, and battle with your twin-blaster as Sabine Wren, the explosive artist
STAR WARS © & ™ Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
The Star Wars Rebels: Recon Missions App is free to play. However, there are optional in-app purchases available for purchase that cost real money. If you choose to make a purchase, your Google Play account will be charged.
Requires : Android 4.0 and up
Single OBB
Mirror:APK 50 MB
Single OBB
- Install Apk
- Copy 'com.disney.starwarsrebels_goo' Folder to sdcard/Android/obb
- Launch the Game


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President Barack Obama has adopted a new style of governing for his second term in the White House: Get with the program – or get out of the way.
It's a refreshing change from his conciliatory approach to Congress in previous years. And it couldn't have come at a more opportune time.
Obama is using his White House bully pulpit to push for tougher gun control legislation that calls for strict background checks for all gun buyers and a ban on assault weapons. He's not pleading with Congress to act on his suggestions; he's demanding that Congress move forward to keep America safe.
For the first time in a State of the Union address, Obama moved beyond gun control: He shined a bright light on urban gun violence in America which has been neglected by Capitol Hill legislators for decades. Much of mainstream society has ignored crime in inner cities, and, let's be real, black folks generally don't like to discuss the root causes of black-on-black crime either.
By inviting Cleopatra and Nathaniel Pendleton as guests in the First Lady's box for the president's address, Obama brought the issue of urban gun violence to the national stage and skillfully linked his gun control lobbying to inner city crime.
"One of those we lost was a young girl named Hadiya Pendleton. She was 15 years old," the president said Tuesday in the most emotional part of his State of the Union address. "She loved Fig Newtons and lip gloss. She was a majorette. She was so good to her friends, they all thought they were her best friend. Just three weeks ago, she was here, in Washington, with her classmates, performing for her country at my inauguration. And a week later, she was shot and killed in a Chicago park after school, just a mile away from my house."
"Hadiya's parents, Nate and Cleo, are in this chamber tonight, along with more than two dozen Americans whose lives have been torn apart by gun violence," Obama said. "They deserve a vote."
Last weekend, First Lady Michelle Obama attended Pendelton's funeral in Chicago and although she didn't say a word at the funeral, her presence spoke volumes.
On Friday, the president will travel to his hometown of Chicago to talk more about gun control at a time when police have charged two black gang members with Pendleton's murder. One of the suspects confessed, saying Pendleton was not the intended target.
Pendleton's death clearly struck a nerve: The Obamas are from Chicago and they have two daughters, Sasha, 11 and Malia, 14.
"Of course, what I've said tonight matters little if we don't come together to protect our most precious resource – our children," Obama said. "It has been two months since Newtown. I know this is not the first time this country has debated how to reduce gun violence. But this time is different."
COMMENTARY: Obama Highlights Urban Gun Violence On National Stage was originally published on blackamericaweb.com


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- Home
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- Departments & More
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- Motor Vehicle Division
- Vehicle Titling and Registration
Vehicle Titling and Registration
Registering and titling your vehicle in New Mexico
You will need to bring the following documentation to the Motor Vehicle Division:- Valid identification such as a valid driver's license, birth certificate or passport.
- Your certificate of title; if held by a lien holder, you will need the lien-holder's name and address to request the title.If possible, obtain the lien-holder's fax number to help expedite the process. All vehicles incoming from out-of-state are required:
- Certified Vehicle inspection - Rio Rancho MVD will only process the VIN Inspection on the vehicle if the title is in our possession, sent to us by the lienholder or dealer.If you are holding your own title, you must visit a state MVD office for the inspection.
- NCIC Clearance
- If new to the state you also need two (2) documents to prove your residency in NM.(see acceptable documents list)
Emissions Inspection Test
Residents of Bernalillo County must provide proof that the vehicle has passed an emissions inspection test.These tests are available throughout Bernalillo county at certified "Air Care" stations.For more information about emissions testing, contact the Vehicle Pollution Management Division, 1500 Broadway NE, Albuquerque, NM 87102; (505) 247-2273.Out-of-State Vehicles and Emissions Testing
You must complete the required "Affidavit of Vehicle Unavailability for Inspection" and complete all required MVD documents and submit all documents to Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Vehicle Pollution Management Program. They approve the waiver and forward your registration payment and forms to MVD.You must submit your waiver form prior to the 10th of the month to allow for processing time.Registration Fees
The registration fees for a vehicle are based on the year model and weight.For information on fee calculation for trailers, or commercial vehicles, call the MVD customer service center at 1-888-683-4636 (1-888-MVD-INFO). Permanent registration is available for utility and travel trailers weighing less than 6,000 pounds.Insurance Requirements
All vehicles operating on the roadways of NM must meet the minimum NM Insurance requirements of 25/50/10.The first amount is bodily injury or death of one (1) person in any one accident, the second amount is bodily injury or death of two (2) or more persons in any one accident and the third amount is for injury to or destruction of property of others in any one accident.Out-of-state policies must meet the minimum NM insurance requirements. You will need to bring in the declaration page of your policy showing your coverage in detail.


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School started this week in Florida, but some students still haven't finished their summer courses. Many needed to make up classes they failed during the school year, but this summer they had just one option, online school. As Sarah Gonzalez of member station WLRN reports, some students are now struggling to catch up.
SARAH GONZALEZ, BYLINE: Louis Gonzalez finished his freshman year at Wiregrass Ranch High School in Pasco County, but this year, he's still considered a freshman, although his schools has a different name for him.
LOUIS GONZALEZ: My school calls me a freshmore.
GONZALEZ: A freshmore?
GONZALEZ: By years I'm a sophomore, but I'm a freshman.
GONZALEZ: Louis failed English, algebra and physical science last year. He thought he'd be able to make up those classes through summer school.
GONZALEZ: That's really what I wanted to happen.
GONZALEZ: But he couldn't because summer school was only available to seniors and some juniors. Five years of multimillion dollar budget cuts has meant school districts across Florida have had to scale back their summer offerings. Ella Shanks is in charge of curriculum in Orlando. She says there just hasn't been enough money to open up all the buildings and offer summer school to everyone who needs it.
ELLA SHANKS: So we focused on the students who needed credits in order to graduate with their cohorts on time. We wanted to make sure that that's given priority.
GONZALEZ: In Ft. Lauderdale, there was no summer at all, only night school for high schoolers and those classes were all online. Freshmore Louis Gonzalez is retaking English through Florida's virtual school program, but he says he couldn't imagine taking math or science online. He says he wishes he'd known about his choices a lot sooner.
GONZALEZ: While all my friends are sophomores, I'm a freshman. That's just embarrassing. I want to be in the right grade with my friends where I'm supposed to be. So, lesson has definitely been learned.
GONZALEZ: It may have taught him to do better in school this year, but it could also make it harder for Louis to catch up. The risk is that he keeps falling behind, says Karen Aronowitz, the president of Miami's teachers union.
KAREN ARONOWITZ: Students in struggling schools and in struggling communities, very often summer school is the link that keeps them current so that when they begin a new school year, they're ready to go and they haven't fallen behind.
GONZALEZ: The Miami-Dade school district spent nearly $17 million on summer school in 2008, the last year it was offered to everyone district wide. The reduced options it offers now cost $5 million. Miami student Stacy Soriano says she knows schools are facing tough budget cuts, but...
STACY SORIANO: No, I would not cut summer school for kids who failed the class.
GONZALEZ: The 17-year-old flunked algebra II. Over the summer, she decided to retake it virtually. When she needs help with a math problem, she calls or texts her teacher.
SORIANO: Sometimes, yeah, she'll get back to me, like, in 10 minutes. Sometimes she won't be able to get back to me, like, two, three days.
GONZALEZ: The school year has already started and she's only halfway done with the online course.
SORIANO: For somebody who failed it, they need a teacher right there by them because they failed it for a reason. And it just makes it really, really hard. I'm kind of a visual person. I got to see the math. And she's just telling you kind of what to write on the paper, so sometimes I get it right, sometimes I don't get it.
GONZALEZ: Robin Winder is with Florida virtual school. She acknowledges it's a challenge for teachers to be available whenever students need them. But she says they're filling a void left by school districts.
ROBIN WINDER: We do see a spike in the summer. We definitely want students to have choices. That's why we're here.
GONZALEZ: But when districts start limiting their summer school options, students say online classes become less of a choice and more like a last resort. For NPR News, I'm Sarah Gonzalez in Miami. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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With tried and true performance, Energy Boost Shoes are out-of-the-box ready for long-distances. These women's neutral running shoes feature a flexible stretch mesh upper with a seamless Techfit design for a secure, supportive fit. A Boost midsole keeps every stride charged with light, fast energy, while the molded heel counter and Stretchweb outsole flex naturally with each footstrike.
Runner type: Neutral shoes offer flexibility and versatility, with premium cushioning
Boost is our most responsive cushioning ever: The more energy you give, the more you get
Four-way engineered stretch mesh upper for flexibility and breathability; Techfit upper is engineered for natural, flexible support and a seamless, sock-like fit
Energy Rail midsole made of Cloudfoam helps to support and guide the foot; Torsion System between the heel and forefoot for a stable ride
TPU cage integrated into external heel counter for best fit in midfoot and heel; Fitcounter molded heel counter provides a natural fit that allows optimal movement of the Achilles
Stretchweb rubber outsole flexes underfoot for an energized ride
Weight: 9.5 ounces (size 7)
Midsole drop: 10 mm (heel: 32 mm / forefoot: 22 mm)
Main materials: Textile and synthetic upper / Textile lining / Rubber outsole
Product code: CG3972
Product color: Core Black / Black / Black


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Ben Bernanke has long been seen as a market mover. The policy set by the Federal Reserve, which he chairs, has profound effects on both the markets and the real economy. Bernanke's comments in June that the Fed might begin tapering back QE3 – the program through which it purchases $85 billion in bonds per month in an effort to keep interest rates down -- sent stocks tumbling and interest rates through the (comparative) roof. The spike of 10-Year U.S. Government bonds, from 1.63 percent in early May to 2.60 percent in early-July, had some serious ramifications for hedge funds and other prominent financial institutions. But now the impact has recently moved past the financial industry and worked its way into the very foundations of the real economy, specifically the mortgage market.
Mortgage activity boomed in post-recession America, mostly fueled by low interest rates. Consumers in the market for their first homes were able to buy new homes with a mortgage at historically low levels, and current owners were able to refinance their mortgages for a better deal. Now, with rising rates, many are feeling much less jubilant. As the chart below shows, the mortgage volume index (provided by the Mortgage Bankers Association) – which measures all mortgage applications, for purchase and re-fis – fell off exactly as rates began to rise. The U.S. economic recovery, largely driven by a recovery in housing, could be threatened by this drop-off. While many are rejoicing as equity-indexes top new highs, the real economy may be more fragile than markets show.


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Special edition: Meat substitutes
Seeing red: The health implications of meat consumption
In the second part of our focus on meat substitutes, FoodNavigator looks at the risks and benefits of excessive meat consumption. In recent years, high profile studies have linked meat consumption, be it red or processed meats, to increased risks of various diseases, including cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.
The most attention – and headlines – has focussed on the link between meat intake and cancer. The World Cancer Research Fund published a report in 2007 that directly linked diet to cancer, with alcohol and red and processed meats posing particular risks.
The WCR report echoes studies from the US National Cancer Institute (NCI), which found that high intakes of red and processed meats may raise the risk of lung and colorectal cancer by up to 20 per cent.
The NCI scientists have also reported findings from a study with half a million people, noting that that increased consumption of red and processed meat may have a modestly increased risk of death from cancer or heart disease (Archives of Internal Medicine, Vol 169, pp. 562-571).
The Archives study was described by Barry Popkin from the University of North Carolina as "excellent" in an accompanying editorial. Popkin added that the results "reiterate the concerns echoed in other major reviews and studies on the adverse effects of excessive meat intake".
Hearts and eyes
Only yesterday we reported on new data from Boston-based scientists that linked red meat to an increased risk of heart failure. According to findings published in Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases, an average of 9.5 servings of red meat per week was associated with a 24 per cent increase in heart failure risk, compared with only 1.5 servings per week. The study was claimed to be the first to evaluate the relationship between red meat consumption and heart failure risk in a large cohort.
A significant body of science also supports a potential link between meat consumption and the risk of type-2 diabetes. Indeed, a meta-analysis from Norway and the US last year found that high intakes of all types of meat were associated with a 17 per cent increase in the risk of type-2 diabetes, while similar risk increases were also noted for high intakes of red meat.
Writing in the journal Diabetologia (2009, Vol. 52, pp. 2277-2287), scientists led by Dagfinn Aune from the University of Oslo also reported that high intake of processed meat may increase the risk of developing type-2 diabetes by 40 per cent, based on data from 12 cohort studies.
Australian scientists have also reported links between red meat consumption and age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in people over 50.
According to findings published in the American Journal of Epidemiology (doi:10.1093/aje/kwn393), two portions of red meat a day were linked to a 50 per cent increase in the risk of AMD. On the flip side, the researchers found that consumption of white meat may offer some protection.
Additives or other?
In an attempt to explain the observations and associations, scientists have pointed the accusatory finger at a range of meat constituents and additives. The salt/sodium content of processed meats has also been identified as a potential contributing factor.
In terms of heart health, scientists have proposed that the saturated fat and cholesterol content of red meat may increase the risks of both high blood pressure (hypertension) and coronary heart disease, both of which are risk factors for heart failure.
Another suspect is nitrite and nitrate additives. Nitrites are added to meat to retard rancidity, stabilise flavour, and establish the characteristic pink colour of cured meat. However, about 80 per cent of nitrates in the diet come from vegetables, while nitrites sources include vegetables, fruit, and processed meats.
Observational studies, including data from the third National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES) on 7,352 subjects over the age of 45, have suggested that increased consumption of nitrites from cured meat could increase the risk of lung disease.
But the topic of nitrites and nitrates is controversial. Scientists from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the researchers report that the compounds, also found in vegetables and drinking water, reduced heart cell death in the mice following a heart attack by 48 per cent (Vol. 104, pp. 19144-19149).
A recent study from researchers at Michigan State University went as far as to suggest that the compounds may actually be nutritious (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, doi:10.3945/ajcn.2008.27131).
The majority of the science has focussed on relatively excessive intakes of meat. A balanced diet is promoted by all public health agencies, and that should include meat.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) suggested last year that red meat packs should carry labels advising people to consume no more than three portions a week.
The WWF says it is not telling people to stop eating meat altogether – rather that they should reduce portions or eat it less often.


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Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Microsoft combining desktop and web search
From the initial reports, the new Microsoft product sounds very similar to Google Desktop Search, which nicely integrates search results from your desktop with all of your web searches.
Longer term, this likely is the beginning of a Microsoft strategy to win the search war by leveraging their control of the desktop. For more on that, see my earlier post, "Using the desktop to improve search".
[Found on Findory]
1 comment:
- chad said...
the only problem here is that enterprise search isn't owned by any one vendor, certainly not Microsoft. Autonomy is probably the single biggest standalone, followed by Fast. Microsoft might have more deployments based on their stuff being integrated into SharePoint and being low-cost. but people who really care about intranet search have licensed Autonomy, Ultraseek, (owned by Verity for some time), Verity (now owned by Autonomy), FAST, or another similar engine. Google is getting some good traction for basic search projects, but their closed-box approach usually means they get kicked out of the higher-end RFPs. theres a lot of niche players too. and once one of these things is in there its hard to get it out. you couldn't pay some customers to switch.
also, the whole internet + intranet combination has been tried and failed a few times by Ask, Altavista among others. its not a real compelling story for customers; the feature set between internet and intranet search is pretty divergent, or at least the requirements people look at when purchasing.
i'd say this would work best by offering some APIs that intranet search can use to enhance enterprise search. instead of trying to figure out how to slap ads in front of users, first focus on how to ENHANCE intranet search. maps APIs, etc. could add some value in some instances. also, I've seen a fair amount of enterprise search projects that want to index the public web for various reasons. something along the Alexa API could be used to outsource portions of an index. basically, let the enterprise build vertical search engines using a toolkit provided by the big internet search indexes. - May 17, 2006 at 10:45 AM


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Empty Nesters
Walt Disney World is for people of all ages. You don't have to have children to go (unless of course you want an excuse)!!
In fact more and more Empty Nesters are making their way to the vacation kingdom each year and seeing it through a new set of eyes.
The Empty Nester series was written by Barbara Rubenstein and edited by Debra Martin Koma.
All information was current at the time the article was written.
Part I – Deciding to Go
Part II – Child-free Dining
Part III – Recreation
Empty Nesters Part I
Tired, Hungry, Cranky, Argumentative,
Thirsty, Naggy and Exasperating.
The Seven Missing Dwarfs?
No, just the gamut of frustrating situations you can encounter when traveling to Walt Disney World with children.
Like many empty-nesters, my husband and I first captured the magic of Disney through the eyes of our children. We began our annual and sometimes semi-annual intrepid travels to Walt Disney World when our children were toddlers and continued until they were well into high school.
Each Disney trip produced new experiences and always ended with anticipation of our next Disney adventure. Except for minor glitches, we always came away exhilarated, at times exhausted, but with new cherished memories.
As our children moved into their last years of high school and on to college we wondered how, or even if, we would see the Disney magic without them. A couple of years ago we ventured to Disney on our own for the first time, a little guilty at the prospect of visiting without our children. Our accommodations were not quite ready when we arrived, so we decided to have lunch in Downtown Disney.
We selected Captain Jack's, since we wanted to try somewhere that we had never before eaten. What a wonderful experience to sit quietly and ponder the selections on the menu! We lazily sat eating our lunch at our window table overlooking the water. With no one to rush us to move on to the next activity, we found ourselves taking in the wonderful view well after our meal was completed.
We ate many wonderful and interesting meals on that first trip sans children, seeing the many Disney eateries in a completely different light and sampling cuisine that our children had never been brave enough to try. We noticed the different embellishments and themes that make Disney restaurants so unique. We engaged in conversations with the waitstaff and on occasion spoke to the chefs, learning about their culinary experiences.
The many diverse shops in the Disney parks, hotels and Downtown Disney offered us another opportunity to appreciate our newfound independence. We browsed at a luxurious, leisurely pace, meandering in and out of shops that were never of interest to us as a family.
Even the change in our park touring was a revelation to us. Imagine being in a Disney park and sitting on a bench, just watching the activity swirling around you, but being in no particular hurry to go anywhere. Walking hand in hand, spontaneously selecting a ride or attraction on a simple whim. Stopping to drink in the culture of a country in Epcot's World Showcase. Visiting the Hall of Presidents with no one begrudging you. Seeing the Disney characters in passing and not frantically searching out someone's favorite one.
We discovered the other Disney, the Disney that offers golf, tennis, biking, jogging paths, health spas and gyms; even the Disney without the parks and attractions. We explored our resort and enjoyed the wonderful beaches and beautifully manicured grounds. We read a book at one of the great water parks, partaking of the slides and pools only when and if we wanted to. We sat on a balcony and actually read the newspaper that was deposited at our door in the morning. We stood on a quiet part of the Polynesian beach watching fireworks while discovering the romantic side of Disney.
We even found that you can NAP at a resort pool in the afternoon! Most importantly, though, we found a visit to Walt Disney World to be a wonderful, well-rounded and relaxing vacation.
We will always cherish the memories of our Disney vacations as a family, and chuckle at the guilt we feel when enjoying Disney on our own. On that first trip without our children, we *did* see Walt Disney World through different eyes. And when friends ask us "Why are you going to Disney when your kids are now grown?" we knowingly look at each other and smile, remembering the magic that Disney delivers.
And yes, when we return from our Disney vacations without the kids, we still anticipate and plan our *next* Disney visit with enthusiasm.
Tips for Staying at WDW Resorts *without* kids:
I VANT TO BE ALONE: When selecting your hotel or resort, request a room away from the hub of activity. We always request a room (or building, at the resorts with multiple buildings), away from the main lobby, pool and food areas. We also ask for a top floor away from the elevators. The hotels/resorts usually are happy to fulfill these requests because this is the exact opposite of what most families want. It is worth the few extra steps for us to reach these areas in exchange for more quiet accommodations, and not too many feet running by our room.
WATCHING THE WORLD GO BY: Wherever you decide to stay, take advantage of your resort/hotel. Sit in the lobby and people-watch. This is a nice respite from the day's activity. Set aside time every day to use the pool/spa. Go to the beach and marina area, rent a boat or just lay not doing anything. Sit at the bar even if you don't drink You will usually find only adults in this area. Browse in the gift shop. Make a point of visiting the concierge or guest services area to learn about all of the amenities that the particular resort offers. Most importantly, relax.
Part I – Deciding to Go
Part II – Child-free Dining
Part III – Recreation
Edited to remove outdated information


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Former SWANCC executive gets 7 years for stealing from agency
An "extremely remorseful" and "deeply shamed" Christopher Brooke Beal stood before Cook County Judge Lauren Gottainer Edidin on Wednesday and apologized to residents of the 23 suburban municipalities that make up the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County for stealing $850,000 during his tenure as executive director.
In exchange for his guilty plea to theft of government property, the judge sentenced Beal to seven years in prison, one more than the minimum sentence available for the felony. Cook County sheriff's deputies took Beal into custody immediately after the hearing.
Beal, 49, admitted falsifying expense reports and submitting reimbursement requests for out-of-pocket expenses for training at Harvard and Northwestern universities and the University of Chicago.
"He never attended a single class or seminar or educational course," said Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Nick Trutenko. "None of those expenses did truly exist."
Defense attorney Thomas Breen requested the minimum sentence, pointing out to the court that before this Beal "lived a law-abiding life."
"He was a man of good character prior to this case," said Breen, who called his client's behavior "an aberration."
Established in 1988, SWANCC handles solid waste pickup and disposal for 23 suburban communities stretching from Lake Michigan to Barrington. Beal, who began working at the agency in January 1993, committed the thefts between Feb. 26, 2006, and Oct. 13, 2010.
An outside forensic audit in October 2010 revealed Beal's financial discrepancies, at which point the board relieved the 17-year employee of his duties and notified the state's attorney. Beal resigned his $160,000-a-year position soon after.
In her ruling, Edidin noted that while Beal's "crime was not violent in nature," it did unfold over four years during which "the defendant could have stopped his actions, which would have limited the loss to the public."
"All things considered, this is a very fair disposition for the residents of our 23 communities," said SWANCC Chairman and Skokie Mayor George Van Dusen, who commended the state's attorney's office and Glenview police for their efforts.
"Why he did this I have no idea. I hate to see anyone as bright as he is betray the trust we put in him," said Van Dusen, who called the sentence fair and the situation tragic.
After the hearing, Breen speculated on his client's possible motivation.
Months before the thefts began, Beal received a job offer from a San Francisco company for more money that also included a pension, Breen said. SWANCC officials agreed to match the offer but did not, he said.
"After that, he felt he had been had. And while he respected the people he worked for, he was angry," Breen said. "It was so poorly covered up he thought it would be discovered at any time."
In the wake of the thefts, officials had two outside financial agencies review SWANCC's policies, said Secretary/Treasurer James Norris, Hoffman Estates village manager. An outside company handles accounting and bookkeeping for the agency, which also instituted more frequent board reviews of financials, among other changes, Norris said.
Beal gave some money away and spent the rest on clothes, expensive dinners, a Michigan summer home and a boat that the bank repossessed, Breen said.
SWANCC officials believed Beal received a fair wage, said Van Dusen, pointing out that Beal negotiated and agreed to his contract.
"If he was dissatisfied, he never indicated that to me," Van Dusen said.
SWANCC officials filed a federal lawsuit against Beal, which Breen says was settled with his client agreeing to repay the $850,000 he stole.


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When guests drop by unexpectedly this holiday season, keep your good cheer intact with a kitchen well-stocked for easy impromptu entertaining. Appetizers you can prepare with minimal hands-on time and simple enhancements to easy leftovers will make you a gracious, if not gourmet, host.
Turkey Salad
Twice Baked Potato Jackets with Rosemary
To whip up special dishes on the fly, you'll need a few key ingredients on hand. Most drop-in guests aren't expecting a full meal, so plan instead for lighter fare, such as appetizers and desserts. Use these tips to get started:
- Get creative with the leftovers you have on hand. Turkey can be mixed with vegetables and hummus to create a salad, sandwich or wrap to instantly transform leftover turkey into a treat so tasty your guests won't even know they're helping clean out the fridge.
- Rely on versatile ingredients that can pull their weight in many ways. Hummus is perfect for easy entertaining because you can use it in countless ways, from dipping with chips or veggies to easy appetizers and side dishes. Sabra's line of refrigerated hummus, with 13 flavor combinations to match any recipe, is perfect for a wide variety of uses, and it provides a healthier alternative to traditional snack foods and spreads. In fact, eating two tablespoons of hummus a day helps fulfill your bean requirement for the week.
- Find an easy dessert or two that you can make ahead of time and keep fresh for surprise visitors. Cookies, candies and brownies are all good choices because they store easily. If you're looking for something more, bread puddings keep up to a week in the fridge for easy reheating, and many pies can be made and frozen ahead of time to simply pop in the oven when guests arrive.
Turkey Salad
- 1 cup turkey breast, cubed
- 1 tablespoon finely diced scallions
- 2 tablespoons diced celery
- 2 tablespoons diced red pepper
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1/2 cup Sabra Hummus
- salt and pepper, to taste
- Combine all ingredients and stir well.
- Serve in bowl of radicchio as salad, on sandwiches, wraps or as an appetizer with veggies, chips or pita bread.
Twice Baked Potato Jackets with Rosemary
- 8 small Yukon Gold potatoes
- 1 cup Sabra Classic Hummus
- 2 tablespoons chopped rosemary
- extra virgin olive oil (for drizzling)
- salt and pepper
- sea salt
- Heat oven to 425 F.
- Scrub potatoes and poke with fork 2-3 times to allow steam to escape while baking.
- Place whole potatoes on rimmed sheet pan and bake for approximately 25-30 minutes (depending on size of potatoes) or until potatoes are soft; cool for 10 minutes.
- Carefully slice potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop inside into bowl, leaving about 1/4-inch ring of potato around edges.
- Lightly mash potato chunks in bowl; add hummus and stir until combined. Season mixture with salt and pepper, taste and adjust if necessary.
- Using spoon, divide potato-hummus filling evenly among potato jackets and broil for 5-7 minutes or until tops are golden and crispy; watch carefully as they burn quickly.
- Remove from broiler and sprinkle with rosemary and a pinch of sea salt. Serve immediately.